Reynold E. "Ren" Kraft

Ren learned about the sport of croquet by going to a neighborhood BBQ. A friend told him about a guy who had a croquet court in his backyard. That guy turned out to be Croquet Hall of Famer Stan Patmor. Ren was invited to play as the Am in the annual Pro-Am tournament and he enjoyed the game.

As it turned out, Ren and his wife Carol had just bought a new house and the backyard was in need of some "clearing out." Ren began to think of how great it would be if the Arizona Croquet Club had a full size court. He figured out a way to do it and in 1983, the ACC had its first full size lawn — the same one it has today — in Ren's backyard. That same year, the first Arizona Open was played on Ren's court. Many of today's best players learned to play on Ren's court under the guidance of Ren and other members of the Arizona Croquet Club.

Ren's first USCA rules tournament was th USCA Western Regional in 1982. He read the rulebook in the car on the way to San Francisco. He continued to play U.S. rules and on the 1985 USCA National Club Teams with partner Don Stallings and then again in 1987 and 1990 with partner Hall of Famer Archie Burchfield. He also competed on many International Challenge Cup Teams. Ren is the only player to have competed in all 15 of the Sonoma-Cutrer World Championships.

Ren will be playing in his first USCA National Championship this October in California.

Reynold E. "Ren" Kraft was inducted into the United States Croquet Hall of Fame in 2000.